Topic: What Game(s) are You Currently Playing?

I'm playing SMT 4 again, continuing where I left off and I believe I'm almost done with the game, just come to a part about knowing where my alignment lies. Trying to go for the neutral ending, hopefully I get it first try.

I'm gonna start playing it again in exactly a week for the 20 year anniversary. Despite being my favorite, I don't think I've played it since like...2014.

As I like to do in November, playing a zelda game alongside Bayonetta 3. I chose OoT which I've played more than a half dozen times 😊

Pac-Man World RePac (Steam) - I'm on the final world & think I only have two levels left (one of which being the final boss). The gameplay doesn't flow as smoothly as a Mario or Astro Bot game, but it's still pretty solid & I think it does a great job of mixing in the "Pac-Man" elements giving it an identity of it's own (imaginative variety in terms of boss fights too, it must be said). Glad it gives out loads of extra lives too. I honestly haven't had that much issue with it overall, but I lost over 15 lives alone on 6-1 due to the fact that a lot of it consists of small floating platforms (some that move or disappear) where it's hard to orient yourself & I'd jump into the abyss constantly (to think this has apparently made a number of QOL improvements over the original, to boot). Graphically it looks lovely too. If I didn't know any better I'd think it was a completely modern game, and the world themes are very varied.

Star Ocean: the Divine Force (PS5) - I don't think it's optimized very well, as even on fidelity mode it doesn't always hit the 30FPS target (though issues mostly pop up in cutscenes, oddly enough, gameplay is usually solid), and apparently the PS4 & PC versions are even worse off in that regard from what I've heard. That said I'm having a lot of fun with it. Flying/gliding around the environments with "D.U.M.A." is a blast & it's fun to use in combat as well. I like the sci-fi element (it's set on a fantasy world with magic, however the protag & some of the other party members are space travellers from Earth who have crash landed here), and it's the first large-ish JRPG I've played since XC2 that's so willing to be endearingly cheesy. Just cleared a dungeon that climaxed with a boss fight against a big blue bird, and have now arrived at the capital.

Jenny LeClue: This game is WAY better than I expected.

Shifu: just working on combos/timing for now.

Completed the third case in Danganronpa. That one was definitely the best so far. It actually took some skill and logical thinking unlike the first two (except the hints the game gives you are way too obvious). The execution was the dumbest yet though, so that was disappointing. The story is definitely getting good. I'm excited to see how this turns out.

I'm also making my way through everyone's third chapters in Octopath Traveler. I really like the strategy that comes into play in the battles and how you can't just do the same thing every time, but you really have to think about the enemy and adjust accordingly. I'm also enjoying everyone's stories. Not even sure I could pick a favorite or a least favorite.

I'm on Chapter 8 of GOTG

So far a 8/10 from me.

I don’t have a lot of tolerance for low brow humor but healer’s quest has been amusing enough so far.

@StarPoint This reminds me I need to finish up my annual FFVII Holiday Replay™

Ys Origin (Switch) - A fun ARPG dungeon crawler in the Napishtim engine and the only Ys title not to feature Adol as a playable character; it serves as a prequel to Ys I & II. I've finished Yunica's run and am now roughly 1/3 of the way through Hugo's route. On the Switch version, you need to play both routes in order to unlock the third canon route. Yunica and Hugo have different play styles, personalities, and a few different story beats, so my second run still feels relatively fresh despite traversing the same environments in Darm Tower.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (Switch) - I'm only about three hours in so far. I'm not entirely sure what's going on yet since the story shifts focus so much - I'm currently in the E.T. parody part of the prologue - but the story beats and characters are quite interesting in the Remembrance phases. Not sure how I feel yet about the RTS (or Destruction) portions of the game since I'm still learning the ropes. Excellent music and visuals though.

Started River City Girls today through NSO Game Trials and have gotten up to beating Yamada (or a third of the way through according to the in-game completion percentage).

It's probably a bit too early to properly tell but I feel like this is going to become one of my new favourite BEU's up there with Streets of Rage 2. It starts off pretty slowly but as soon as you get out of school, it becomes so much fun mowing down enemies, picking up their cash and using said cash to upgrade yourself with buffs and new moves. If there's one thing that shines above the rest though, it's the character: between the jaw-dropping spritework, killer soundtrack (with shockingly incredible vocal tracks like holy s***) and adorable artstyle, it's definitely got one of my favourite aesthetics in gaming and as a SPIN-OFF!? That's an incredible achievement from WayForward. Literally about to go back to it as we speak, I can't wait to get back to it.

Also, as someone who's been suffering through the original Double Dragon lately, seeing you-know-who pop up was certainly a surprise.

Still playing some persona 5. Starting to wear me out a little if I'm being honest. Also playing willow for nes which is great fun!

Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town PS4
Still working on upgrading my tools to fix all the stuffs on the third unlocked place since the trees over there are way harder to cut by default tools.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe since wave 3 came out recently. Been enjoying my time with the latest batch of courses!

A.I. The Somnium Files. So far a very good game.

Tetris The Grandmaster!! DDD It's a really challenging time for me, especially with it's ranks system (9-1, S1-S9, GM in that order) and the versus mode, which while I haven't tried yet, looks like it'd be fun with somebody, with the power-ups system it has.

I recently started Röki! Can be a little slow/tedious at times but overall I'm really enjoying it. The art style is absolutely stunning 😍

Wow, I liked Abobo when I met him in Double Dragon but jesus his boss fight in River City Girls is probably the best one so far: fun attack patterns to dodge and counter, a tough but fair ultimate attack and an absolutely killer theme to boot. He's probably been the easiest boss outside of Misuzu so far (only took me 4 tries to beat him compared to the 20+ with Yamada and Hibari) but man if it wasn't fun the whole way through.

Also that pre-battle dialogue is shockingly heartfelt (poor guy....).

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (Switch) - This game is delightfully insane. It's mostly a VN first, then a SRPG second. I'm a little over 15 hours in and am still trying to make sense of the plot. The story is told in a fragmented, out of order way; I'm slowly fitting some pieces together however. Definitely one for those who like mysteries and to keep guessing. A lot of the 13 characters are compelling so far too. The RTS/SRPG portion is pretty fun, though it's still a bit easy even on Normal mode. I'm playing this for the story though, so I'm not too fussed about the challenge. XD

Kirby: Triple Deluxe (3DS) - I've only cleared the first world so far, but it's a fun modern Kirby game. A tad safe maybe, but so far I daresay I'm enjoying it more than Kirby's Return to Dream Land. I haven't tried any of the other modes yet, but I hope to soon. Especially Dedede's Drum Dash.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PS5) - Just did the thing where you beat the "final boss" but it's not the final boss (looks like I have one more regular level & then the true final boss left to go), which for various reasons I was expecting. It definitely seems a bit more challenging overall compared to your average platformer, but the fact that it's not quite as tight to play as Mario or Astro Bot might play a part. It definitely has some memorable levels though.

Samurai Maiden (Steam) - A surprisingly pretty competent action game (sometimes you can't tell with these ecchi games), so far I think a 6 or 7 would be a fair assessment. So far I've completed the first 8 story missions and a few of the "bubble pocket" side missions (which are pretty much required for upgrade purposes). I wouldn't call it a straight up warriors clone though, and would say it mixes elements of Ninja Gaiden/Bayonetta type games, yes a bit of Warriors, and I'll guess & even say a bit of Souls (though this is just a guess as I haven't played any of those).